The railway company is developing a smartphone app that would board several services, including train monitoring and ticketing, under one roof. This super app would integrate services that the national transporter now provides through other applications, according to various reports.
The information technology (IT) division of the Railway Ministry, CRIS, is in charge of creating the app. A senior government official said, “This will improve user experience by reducing the number of downloads needed for a complete bouquet of railway services.” He said that there is room for more revenue from the current offers and improved synergy.
According to the sources, upgrading the Indian Railways applications is necessary after considering user input. With over 100 million downloads, IRCTC Rail Connect is the most downloaded software for Indian Railways. To order reserved train tickets, it is the sole available platform. With over 10 million downloads.
UTS is another well-known train app that specialises in offering season passes and platform tickets. 560,000 train ticket bookings were made through Rail Connect in FY23, over half of all tickets sold by IRCTC. The IRCTC website was used to sell the remaining tickets.
The National Train Enquiry System, UTS, and Rail Madad apps will all be combined into one mega app. Furthermore, this new app may also include a collection of operational applications, such as PortRead, Satark, and TMS-Nirikshan. The IRCTC Air, IRCTC eCatering Food on Track, and IRCTC Rail Connect may all be combined into one app.
Another source said, “Potential for eyeball monetisation must be kept at the forefront while designing the super app.” They said that adding value would be necessary to combine the popular standalone apps on a single platform. Roughly Rs 90 crore would be spent by Indian Railways on the app’s development and three-year operation.
